Golf practicing device



Oct. 15, 1935. E. w. JOHANSON 2,017,661

GOLF PRACTIQING DEVICE Filed June 16, 1933 Patented Oct. 15, 1935 GOLFPRACTICING DEVICE 6 Claims.

This invention relates to a golf practicing device intended for indoorand outdoor use, and more particularly concerns the provision of asturdy, durable, and conveniently portable construction presenting aball-like object which may be employed for practicing golf strokes.

While devices of this general character and purpose are not new, theyhave not been used to any great extent, probably because they havepossessed certain structural characteristics which rendered themsomewhat frail and dangerous for use in confined spaces. Such devices asI have examined appear to have been designed more for the purpose ofsupporting an actual golf ball than for durability and safety in use,without apparent realization or consideration of the fact that, for thepurposes and possible uses of such devices, it is unnecessary, and evenundesirable, to employ an actual golf-ball. The usual golf-ballpossesses certain characteristics which, while they may be verydesirable in the actual playing of the game, are not at all necessary ina practicing device in which the principal purpose is to present aball-like target to be used in the practicing of stance, swing andstroke. I have found that the usual golf-ball is too heavy, hard, andlively to be safely held at the end of a swinging arm which must beshort enough to swing in a reasonably limited space. In such anarrangement, the ball is too near the pivotal point of the supportingarm, so that a powerful blow of the club upon the ball is likely tosplit the ball, break or distort the arm, and/or drive the ball from theend thereof. These objectionable features are not present in theconstruction which I shall describe.

In the drawing- Figure 1 is a top plan view of the device embodying myinvention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view thereof;

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view, taken longitudinally ofthe device upon the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view, taken transversely ofthe device upon the line 44 of Figure 1; and

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4, but taken upon the line 55 ofFigure 1, with part of the base broken away.

A fiat, circular base I, preferably of cast iron to give suificientweight thereto, is centrally bored at 2 to receive a verticallyadjustable cylindrical socket-bushing 3. Extending radially from thebore 2, the under part of base I is recessed to form a chamber 4, andsocket-bushing 3 is formed with a radially extending lug 5 whichregisters with the chamber to lock the socketbushing from turning in thebore without interfering with its vertical adjustment therein, as shownin Figure 4. structed of some light, strong metal, and comprisesoppositely extending, downwardly inclined, tubular sleeves l and 8, anda substantial pivotpost 9. Sleeves l and 8 taper slightly toward theirouter ends, where they may be flared, or 10 reamed, as shown at ID inFigure 3, to avoid sharp inner edges, and pivot-post 9 is fitted to turnfreely in socket-bushing 3 and rest upon the bottom thereof, beingretained therewithin by a shouldered screw i i, which screw is inserted15 centrally through the bottom of said socketbushing and screwed intothe bottom of said pivot-post, a lock-washer I2 holding said screw toturn with the pivot-post in the socket-bushing. The inner ends of thetapered chambers of sleeves 20 l and 8 terminate abruptly in a somewhatlarger central chamber I3, thereby providing respective annularshoulders I4 and I5. Head 6 is constructed in two separable sections,comprising the cap I6 and the body ll, held together by screws 25 I8.

The shape, arrangement, and construction of arms I9 and 20 are the mostimportant and novel features of my invention. They are exactly alike, sothat a description of one will apply to both. Referring, first to theirshape and arrangement, it will be seen that each is formed at its buttend with a substantially thick annular flange 2|, tapers therefrom to aneck 22, and terminates in a ball-shaped outer end 23. The taper of thechambers of sleeves l and 8 conforms to that of the respective arms l9and 20, and the arms are placed and secured in position within theirsleeves by removing screws l8 and cap it of the head 6, pressing thearms into the lower open sections of said sleeves, and replacing andtightening down said cap and screws. The butt ends of the arms are thusheld securely within their respective sleeves, their inner ends crowdedagainst each other in the bottom of chamber I3 to hold flanges 2|tightly against the shoulders M and I5, so that displacement of the armsin head 6 in any direction is prevented. The downward inclination ofsleeves l and 8 and, consequently, of arms l9 and 2!), is such that theball-shaped ends 23 will be positioned slightly above horizontalalinement with pivotpost 9.

It will be observed that the pivotal support for the revoluble parts islow; that, in all positions Head 8 is preferably con- 5 of verticaladjustment of such parts, the pivotpost remains wholly within thesocket-bushing, and both pivot-post and socket-bushing always retaintheir relative position horizontally with respect to the ball-shapedends of the arms; and that the cup-shaped construction of thesocketbushing contributes to its retention of lubrication. Thisarrangement permits the head to be properly and substantiallyconstructed without sacrificing structural balance; that is to say, thevertical dimension of the head may be suflicient to permit sturdyconstruction of the parts to provide secure anchorage for the armswithout involving an over-topping eiTect and the possible distortion ofthe pivot-post or the socket-bushing when powerful golf-club strokes aredelivered upon the ballshaped ends. The directional force ofwelldelivered strokes upon the ball-shaped ends are tangent to, but inapproximate horizontal alinement with, the pivotal support.

A conveniently operable detent device is arranged to co-operate withsocket-bushing 3 in holding the revoluble parts in a desired position ofvertical adjustment upon base I, so that the ball-shaped ends 23 of arms19 and 20 may be raised or lowered to the height desired by the player.Various forms of detent devices may be employed, and the particular formis not important, so long as it serves the purposes I have mentioned. Inthe arrangement I have shown, socket-bushing 3 is notched, bored, orotherwise provided, with a series of latch-pin sockets 24, located inthe wall of said socket-bushing above the lug 5, and chamber 4 houses aspring-pressed latch-pin or bolt 25 for engagement with said sockets.Latch-pin 25 extends just below the upper wall of chamber 4 through aguide-plate 23 and has a flattened, eyed end which is transfixed by theshank of a rocking operating member 21. Member 2! is constructed in twoparts, the lower part 28 being squared to prevent it from turning inchamber 4 and to properly receive the action of the open-coil spring 29,and the upper part 36 comprising a headed, shouldered screw-pin 3| whichprojects upwardly through a slot 32 in the upper wall of chamber 4. Thelower end of member 2'! is provided with a short pin 33 which is steppedin a hole in the supporting bar 34. Bar 34 is secured tothe bottom ofbase I across chamber 4. The latch-pin 25 may be withdrawn from any oneof the sockets 24 by rocking member 21 against the influence of spring29. Pin 33 is held from being displaced from the hole in the bar 34 bythe arrangement of latch-pin 25 close to the upper wall of chamber 4,and latch-pin 25 is held from bearing against pivot-post 9 by thestopping of screw-pin 3| against the end of slot 32. I have indicatedthreaded screw-holes 35 tapped in the bottom of base I (Figure 3). Whenthe device is to be used out-of-doors, threaded spikes may be screwedinto these screw-holes, and, when it is to be used indoors, the samescrew-holes may be used for fastening the base I to a baseplate, uponwhich the player may stand, and upon which some suitable material, suchas a door-mat, may be secured to serve as a fairway, if desired.

I have mentioned that it appears to be unsafe and is entirelyunnecessary to employ a standard golf-ball and attach it upon the end ofan arm short enough to be practicable in a device of this kind, where itmust swing in a limited space. I prefer to form the ball upon the end ofits supporting arm, casting them as a single unit, and this unit may beof solid live rubber; or the ball and arm, or the arm alone, may bemoulded with a tough, fibrous fabric as a core, for example, a strongcord with a knotted end may be used, the knotted end being embodied asthe center of the ball-shaped end and the cord extending as the 5 Y thepurposes just mentioned, and are to be understood as being within thescope of my invention, I have found them to be unnecessarily expensive,and I prefer to further avoid the obl5 jections I have pointed out aspertaining to the use of a standard golf-ball in a device of this kindby having the ball-shaped ends of the arms light in weight and socompressible as to absorb to a considerable extent the impact of theblow de- 20 livered thereupon by the golf-club. I have therefore shownthe construction which I have found to be the most desirable, whereinthe ball-shaped end 23 of each arm is hollow, and wherein the hollowinterior is vented by a tubular channel 36 25 extending through thecenter of the arm to the central chamber 13. While the wall of thehollow arm and the ball-shaped end thereof is of substantial thickness,it does not need to be of the same thickness throughout. While theballshaped end should be compressible enough for the purpose mentioned,it should be firm; the neck should be flexible and elastic, but strong;and the butt-end of the arm should be sufficiently compressible andelastic to effect an air-tight joint in the sleeve when the cap istightened down. The wall at the butt-end and at the ball-shaped end 23is therefore thicker than at the neck 22, and the arm is reinforced bythe insertion of a hollow core 37 of stiffer and harder rubber, which 40is cemented in position and extends throughout the length of the arm andwell into the hollowinterior of the ball-shaped end, lending additionalstrength to the neck, where strength, flexibility and elasticity areobviously needed.

From the foregoing complete description, it will be evident that, whenthe ball-shaped end 23 of one of the arms is struck by the golf-club,the impact of the blow will be absorbed to a certain extent by theresilient compressibility of the hollow ball and of the air which istrapped in both hollow arms and the chamber l3. The flexible neck 22will also absorb part of the impact, and the head 6 and both arms 1 and8 will be spun around upon the base I.

I claim- 1. A golf practicing device comprising a supporting base, amember pivotally supported for horizontal rotation upon said base, and aonepiece flexible arm secured upon and extending from said member andterminating in an enlarged ball-shaped end having a relatively largeunoccupied cavity therein.

2. A golf practicing device comprising a supporting base, a memberpivotally supported for horizontal rotation upon said base, andv aonepiece tubular flexible arm secured upon and extending from saidmember and terminating in an enlarged ball-shaped end having arelatively large unoccupied cavity therein.

3. A golf practicing device comprising a supporting base, a memberpivotally supported for horizontal rotation upon said base, and aonepiece tapering tubular flexible arm secured upon 1 and extending fromsaid member and terminating in an enlarged ball-shaped end having arelatively large unoccupied cavity therein.

4. A golf practicing device comprising a supporting base, a memberpivotally supported for horizontal rotation upon said base, a one-piecetubular flexible arm secured upon and extending from said member andterminating in an enlarged ball-shaped end having a relatively largeunoccupied cavity therein, and a flexible core inserted within said amand extending therethrough to the cavity in the ball-shaped end thereof.

5. A golf practicing device comprising a supporting base, a memberp-ivotally supported for horizontal rotation upon said base, a hollowflexible arm secured upon and extending from said member and terminatingin an enlarged ball-shaped end having a relatively large unoccupiedcavity therein, and a flexible core inserted within said arm and havingan open channel extending completely therethrough; said core extendingthrough said arm and to the cavity in the ball-shaped end thereof, withthe channel therein communicating with said cavity.

6. A golf practicing device comprising a supporting base having avertical bore, a socketbushing fitted within the bore in said base andvertically adjustable therein, a latching means carried by said base andco-operating with said socket-bushing to retain it in a desired positionof vertical adjustment, a member having a pivotpost within saidsocket-bushing and removably secured thereto to permit free horizontalrotation of said member, and a flexible arm secured to and extendingradially from said member and terminating in a ball-shaped end.

ERIC W. JOHANSON.

